Defending A Shoreline

The forts along the western coast are numerous and varied. Cultures converge here as architectural styles adapt to each terrain, bringing with them the spirit of faraway times. History is written in stone and the shifting lines where the land meets the sea.

Travelling along Maharashtra’s dramatic coastline, one is struck by the beauty of the region where land and water meet on palm-fringed beaches and dense palm groves that waft floral aromas highlighted by the enticing perfume of the Kewada flower that permeates the air. If one is also tuned to the historical flow of time it is likely then that one will become aware that there are more than eighty forts strung along the 750 km length of the coast. These remnants of the past present not just a variety of architectural styles but pieces of history from bygone times when the region saw the presence of a number of different settlers including the Dutch, French, Portuguese, Siddis and those from India.

There are three types of sea forts. The first being those referred to as Janjira in Marathi. This word has been derived from the Arabic term ‘Jazira’ which means an ‘island’. Forts like Arnala, Khanderi, Sindhudurg, and Janjira of Murud are some of those that have been built on ‘jaziras’ in the Arabian Sea. The second type of fort is commonly known as a coastal fort, built on a hill close to the coast. Vijaydurg, Kanakdurg, Devgad, Goa are among the coastal forts. The third type of fort is built on a hill near a creek, a little away from the seashore. Gopalgad, Purnagad and Ratnagiri forts fall into this category.

In Maharashtra, coastal forts are found in Thane, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts. In the district of Thane alone there are as many as twenty eight forts which include the ones at Dahanu, Chinchani, Tarapur, Shirgaon, Bhavangad , Arnala, Aagashi, Vasai, Versova, Thane, Belapur and seventeen sea forts at Kalave-Mahim. Among them those at Arnala and Vasai are significant.

Arnala fort stands on an island which is also occupied by a small village. Built by the senior Bajirao Peshwa (according to a stone inscription in the fort) in 1737 AD., its structure resembles Pune’s Shaniwarwada. However, there are also ten bastions which are unlike Shaniwarwada. For example there is an isolated bastion which once hosted cannons. This type of structure is known as a “Martello Tower”. Many other structures like this can also be seen on the French shoreline.

To the south of Arnala, on the banks of the Ulhas river, stands the Vasai fort. Once surrounded by sea, creek and marsh land, this fort built in the 16th century by the Portuguese is unique. With pentagon shaped bastions, massive fortifications and a secret emergency underground tunnel running for a length of a hundred and sixty metres. The Maratha army is said to have laid twelve mines, two of which exploded causing a breach in the fort wall on the morning of 5th May 1739, heralding a fierce battle between the Marathas and Portuguese. The latter surrendered to the Marathas before dusk. Chimaji Appa, the Maratha army chief gave asylum to the surrendered Portuguese. On 12th May, the remaining Portuguese soldiers headed off on a route march through the breach and went back to Goa.. The Marathas captured the Vasai fort. This was a significant victory for them as it helped them drive the Portuguese out from the north Firangan. An equestrian statue of Chimaji Appa has been erected at the fort as a tribute to his bravery.

There are also few forts erected by the British in Mumbai. The area north of Colaba is known as Mumbai Fort, as the old fort was once located there (today, most of the fort is in ruin). They had also built forts in Mazgaon, Shivadi, Wadala, Mahim, Shiv and Warli. Unfortunately they too are in a miserable condition.

In the sea between Mumbai and Alibaug, there are two forts built on two islands. One of them, built by Shivaji, is known as ‘Khanderi’. The other one was raised by the Siddis on an island, which is between Thal and Khanderi. The British called these two islands Hendry-Kendry. In 1679 A.D. Shivaji started building a fort on the Khanderi island. The British tried to impede the work and sent in their navy to drive away the Marathas from the island. Under the command of Captain William Minchin, Captain Richard Kewin, John Bradbury, and Francis Moliver their frigates ‘Hunter’, ‘Revenge’ and ‘Guraba’ fought against the Marathas. They set up marine blockades between the mainland and the island, and tried to halt Maratha supplies. But their efforts were in vain when Maratha soldiers, taking advantage of the darkness and with the help of their small and swifter boats, made it to the island unnoticed. When British attempts to capture the fort failed, they signed a treaty with Shivaji in January 1860, offering him the island. Today, remnants of the fortification and a lighthouse exist.

Near Alibaug’s shoreline, there is a coastal sea fort. When the tide is high, waters surround the fort and when it is low, one may approach the place on foot. It is said, however, that sharp shells were placed on the rocks to make it difficult for the enemy to cross them on foot.

Even though the main island as well as the smaller islands around it were fortified, it did not deter the allied forces of the British and the Portuguese to launch an invasion. The wily Marathas under admiral Kanhoji Angre successfully repulsed their attack. Yes, those were heroic times but then, those days have passed and all that remains are two wheeled British cannons that stand on a bastion.

In Ashtagar, the Portuguese built a fort at Revadanda, the remains of which greet visitors today – ruined walls, underground secret ways, a seven storied building and other ruins remain standing beside the place where the Kundalika river empties itself into the Arabian sea. Apart from this there is another fortress which stands on a hill near the village of Korli. This is an unusual village because here the people who are Christian speak both Creole and Marathi. They have composed songs in Creole and have also written books. .

Murud is another village that stands not far from a number of forts. For example, not far from here are two se forts. One of them had been built by the Siddis, who were in the service of the Nizamshahi of Ahmednagar. ‘Janjira’ is an imposing fort that holds a significant place in history. Its fortification consists of twenty-one bastions which were built between 1567 and 1572. The Siddis (referred to as ‘Habshi’ people by Marathi speakers) were Abyssinians who came to India from Ethiopia. This imposing edifice which was built by them had twenty-one bastions which were equipped with 400 cannons(of course, only a hundred of these survive today).

A fort of such prominence was a prize that the Marathas could not ignore and so they launched a number of attempts to seize it – in vain. And so Shivaji adopted an alternative plan – to build another fortified structure nearby. This led to the rise of Padmadurg fort on the nearby Kansa island. This fort was built to keep a close watch on the Siddis of Janjira. Shivaji in a letter writes, “Building the Padmadurg fort is to lessen the importance of Rajpuri.”

Not far from Dapoli is the village Harne. This area is well known for four forts that remain from the past. Among them, Suvarnadurg is the principal fort built on an island. The remaining three are the coastal forts of Kanakdurg, Fatehgad and Goa which were during their time used as support forts.

Shivaji had built Suvarnadurg and later Kanhoji Angre was its administrator. The fort had been carefully constructed and a great deal of thought had been given to its architecture. Some parts of the island are not fortified. The unfortified parts of the fort are chiselled out and their surfaces are made so smooth that if the enemy ever tried to climb up from that side, they would slip into the sea.

Moving now, towards the mouth of the river Vaghotan, in the district of Sindhudurg, one comes across the fort of Vijaydurg famous for its amazingly built ‘invisible’ fortification. Around 1720, Charles Boon, Governor of Bombay province made several attacks on the fort. The Maratha admiral Kanhoji Angre, who was also the fort administrator of Vijaydurg, was not present in the fort at the time Boon attacked. Instead Rudraj Anant was temporarily in his place.

In order to launch a successful attack on the fort, Boon had an enormous ship (much like a floating fortress) built in the Dabhol dockyard. He had it hauled out to sea for battle but the ship was too heavy for its sails. To remedy this he used two ships to pull it towards Vijaydurg. The ship reached a certain point and then could move no more, despite a lot of effort. The Maratha navy, under the leadership of Kanhoji Angre, was in the Vaghotan creek. Caught between their inability to physically proceed any further or even face the Maratha navy, they retreated.

Centuries later, in 1991, the truth emerged. the answer as to why the British navy failed to cross a certain point was discovered. The Western Naval Command and National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, in their joint venture made a startling disclosure. When their divers went into the sea, they saw a wall, built parallel to the seaside fortification of Vijaydurg. The wall had been constructed by piling up stones. It is 120 to 150 metres away from the fort, running to a length of 122 metres, with a width of 6 to7 metres. The wall is 3 to 4 metres high and cannot be seen from above, nor is it visible at low tide. This wall stopped the English from reaching the fort.

Another notable fort is Sindhudurg which stands on the island of Kurate, off Malvan. This was established by Shivaji, (in the words of Sabhasad), ‘as an invincible fort built to nullify the pride of the versatile topikars (Europeans).” A base for the Maratha navy, this fortified area stood as a direct threat to the Portuguese of Goa. Within the fort there are three wells – Dahibhav, Dudhbhav and Sakharbhav, and on entering the fort one will see two domes made of rock. On one dome, we can see an imprint of a hand and on the other, an imprint of a foot, believed to be Shivajis.

On the way by boat from Malvan to Sindhudurg one can see the ruins of Padmadurg and other lesser forts, all mute witness to the passing ways of time, once in the very heart of history making.

It is said that the Satwahanas were the first to start building forts along the coast of Mahrashtra and Shurparak, Kalyan and Dabhol ports were used from the ancient times. In the writings of Ptolemy, Pliny we find references to these ports. After the Satwahanas, the Shilahars, the Kadambs, the Yadavas, Nizam, and Adilshah built a number of forts along the sea. However it was the Marathas who not only constructed new forts here (modifying, reconstructing and renovating the old) but cohesively created a strong chain of defence using a combination of fortification and naval strategy.

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